The picture below is somewhat incongruous. Check the date of it (circa World War II).

GL.jpg

hiroshige.jpg





1. The Chinese soldiers are portrayed as very cowardly and weak. They are often dead on the ground. The Japanese soliders always have their swords out. They are portrayed as extremely powerful, almost invincible.

2. The Chinese soldiers are usually firing guns from far away or spears. The Japanese soldiers are using western rifles. The leader is always charging with his sword out. This is quite opposite from the technological advancement that Japan had.

3. Sports are usually very popular among the people all around the world. It could indicate that a nation is really developed if it wins a international sports competition. Thus sports become symbolic battlegrounds and become very competitive.

4. Imperialism is simply about military and political control. There cannot be any cultural superiority of one country over another country. Every culture has its own distinct characteristics and aspects. Can we never have cultural superiority? I am not convinced that we cannot; are not some cultural practices dangerous and therefore harmful to the people that engage in them or to those around them. Excessive use of alcohol on a regular basis should be seen as potentially dangerous, and therefore inferior to sobriety, wouldn't you say?

The Russo-Japanese War
Background to the Russo-Japanese War
View the wood block prints of the Russo-Japanese War
View some of these images (at least 10) from TopFoto Gallery - Russo-Japanese War
View all of the images (primarily photos) for History in Pictures - Russo-Japanese War
View the films (Thomas Edison's work) of the war (staged) on this website: Meeting of Frontiers
Provide answers to the following questions after completing the viewings above. Be certain to have viewed all of the work above. As you do, note what you see, and image how it may have impacted on a person from that era in Japan (and Russia):
Do artistic renditions or photographs depict the heroics of war better?
The artistic renditions depict the heroics of war better. Since an artwork can be distorted by the producer, the artist can portray war on his work in whatever way he or she wants. Therefore, when heroics of war has to be praised, artworks can exaggerate the heroic actions. Therefore, artistic renditions depict heroics of war better.
Do artistic renditions or photographs depict the horrors of war better? (Consider all photographs of war that you have seen, both historical and contemporary)
Photographs depict the horros of the war better. Photographs show 100% fact if it is taken in the battlefield. Therefore, photographs are harder to distort the image inside it than artistic renditions.
How does the medium affect the message? Can we say that, "[T]he medium is the message"?
The medium can affect the message a lot. The medium decides how the audience feels and what kind of message the audience gets after looking at the work. For example, if the work is a picture, the message will come more seriously to the audience than artistic renditions since pictures generally show the fact.
Why is 1905 such a turning point in Japanese and World history? How might history have been different had Japan lost the Russo-Japanese War?
The Japanese won the Russo-Japanese war, unlike the world expected. It was a victory of an Asian country against a Western country. It was an unexpected result for the west, and it was a turning point in the perspective of the west on Japan. If the Japan lost Russo- Japanese War, Japan will not be powerful enough to join the Axis in World War 2. America would not have a reason to join the second world war since Pearl Harbor would not happen. America will join the war later, therefore there will be much more casualties in Europe. Also, since Russia will earn money out of treaties from Japan. The soviet revolution will probably not happen, or happen in a less successful way. Russia would not be dominated by communists. The great purge would not happen, so Russian generals would be able to defend Russia from the Nazis with less casualties. Moreover, since the cold war would not happen, there would be lesst conflicts and wars in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, and even 90s.



Queen Min

Married at 14 to Kojong

became the queen of Chosun.


2. She was chosen to become the queen because Taewonkun believed that she would be easy to control and become a good wife.

3. From the majority's point, it was wise since she made many accomplishments and developments in her country. From the confucius point of view, a woman having that much contol in the government would not be acceptable. She tried to control the power balance between Russia, Japan, and China. - following Thailand as a role model.

4. She tried to buy time for progressive developments.


5. Queen Min got asassinated by Japanese assassins and Korean collaborators in 1895.

6. Dana admires queen Min because of her bravery. She stopped the Kapsin rebellion and other internal conflicts and problems in her country.



1. Isabella Bird was a British explorer who gave information about Japan.

2. She met queen Min. Queen Min was looking like a nice, slender woman.

3. The clothes and jewels worn by Queen Min implied that she is a woman with a very high status to Bird.

4. Queen Min impressed and inspired the people around her with her grace.



Timeline Project

Arnold's Timeline







Citations


"Korean Empire Summary | BookRags.com." BookRags.com | Study Guides, Lesson Plans, Book Summaries and more. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2011. <http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Korean_Empire#Proclamation_of_Empire>.

Progressive, 1912 Taft had so isolated himself from his party's, was under such heavy fire from Roosevelt, spring. However, Taft waged an angry, defensive, and ineffectual. "William H. Taft: Biography from Answers.com." Answers.com: Wiki Q&A combined with free online dictionary, thesaurus, and encyclopedias. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2011. <http://www.answers.com/topic/william-h-taft>.

"Taft–Katsura Agreement - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taft%E2%80%93Katsura_Agreement>.

"The 1905 Secret Taft-Katsura Agreement: America¡¯s Betrayal Of Korea." Selected Research on Dokdo Island. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2011. <http://dokdo-research.com/temp25.html>.